TRIP AROUND THE WORLD WOULD PALE IN COMPARISON TO WINNING INDY FOR ROGER BURGESS

INDIANAPOLIS - Roger Burgess arrived at his Atlanta, Ga., residence on Monday at 2 AM following a vacation trip around the world.

While this experience was breath-taking for the highly successful businessman, he admits the experience would pale in comparison to winning the greatest of all NHRA JEGS Pro Modified championships - the NHRA U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis.

The five-day experience known simply as the "Big Go" would serve as perfect follow up to his 24-day world tour.

"Without a doubt," Burgess confirmed. "If you're a drag racer that has visions of grandeur, then you want to win Indy. It's the Daytona 500 of drag ra cing. You can win any event and it's a great experience, but winning Indy is a great experience and then a while lot more."

Burgess has yet to win his first national event but has come close by posting a runner-up finish during the NHRA Southern Nationals at his home track in Atlanta, Ga.

One might be inclined to believe the Burgess world tour would be hard to top considering he was a witness to the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games in Beijing, China, and after a week traveled to other locations such as Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii before returning home. The tour started in Ireland and then moved to Russia before the China experience.

And just to think, he gets to race a Pro Modified at Indy.

"That excites me," Burgess admitted. "There's only so much rooting and shopping and sightseeing a man can do, then it's time to go racing."

Burgess will debut a new Tim McAmis-built 1967 Camaro Pro Modified entry that was delivered and tested while he was away.

"Life is good for us," Burgess said, speaking about his upcoming weekend in Indianapolis. "It will be busy but very good."

Busy just might be an understatement as Burgess will oversee a weekend filled with such notable highlights as Frank Hawley driving a Ri te Aid-sponsored Funny Car, Peggy Llewellyn racing an R2B2 Motors Pro Stock Motorcycle in promotion of the company's September 6 grand opening, as well as Pro Modified racer Joe Baker. These are new additions to the existing team driven by Melanie Troxel.

Burgess considers himself a patient man, but clearly he's ready to win a race.

"I think it's about time we win one of these things," Burgess said of his upcoming NHRA JEGS Pro Modified outing. "We come up there to win every time we go to the starting line, but the season is quickly winding down and now's the time to get it done."